As I mentioned in a previous post, there are a lot of fantastic decks out there and it occurred to me that I was doing a great disservice to my art by not bottling at least some of them.  Don’t get me wrong – I love the simplicity of the standard Bikes (they didn’t become the most recognisable playing cards in the world for nothing), but some of the other decks have a very different aura and feel.

So here’s my first offering…the fantastic Vintage Series 1800 deck, ‘ripped from history’ as the advertising blurb goes.  It has the feel of Western shootouts, saloons and sheriffs about it, and I have to be honest – I love it.  Now if only I can get Clint Eastwood to sign the deck…

Let me know what you think in the comments below.  I’m hoping to add these to the website soon, but if you’d like one in the meantime, just get in touch.

A little while back I showed you an impossible bottle signed by Paul Daniels.  Well this time I have another famous-name bottle to show you – and it so happens to be another Paul.

If you’ve performed card magic for any reasonable length of time, there’s no doubt you’ll have come across the wonderful magic of Paul Harris.  Chances are you probably have at least one of his effects in your repertoire.  The magic profession owes much to Paul’s bizarre and innovative effects, many of which were collated in his seminal Art of Astonishment book set.

I have a very personal attachment to these books, as it was in them that I first read about impossible bottles, and the wonderful creations of Harry Eng.  Not so long ago I contacted Paul and asked him to sign a deck for me to preserve for posterity.  I present to you the Paul Harris impossible bottle:

Click to enlarge

If you buy playing cards regularly, you’ll know that there are an absolute plethora of designs available.  This is especially true of Bicycle playing cards, with new decks being released at an astonishing rate.

So do you have a favourite deck (or any other object for that matter) that you’d like to see preserved for posterity in a bottle?  If so, just get in touch and I’ll be happy to help you out!

A wider selection of my bottles are now available at CultureLabel, a website which “brings together a hand-curated edit of the most stylish products from around the world.

Click here to view.

CultureLabel loved the unique simplicity of the impossible bottle, and it’s a real honour for me to display my work alongside the likes of the Saatchi and Tate galleries.

I’ll be adding new bottles to this line-up periodically, so do check back in the future!

I just spotted this video review of the impossible bottle by the boys at Newcastle-based magic shop Magicbox.  There are lots of pictures of my bottles around the web, but this is the the first footage of them I’ve seen so far.  Thanks guys!  (And thanks for the great review too!)

Recently I was contacted by a local artist, Bryan Hible, who requested permission to paint a picture of one of my impossible bottles.  Naturally I was curious, and agreed.  I sent him a photograph and waited.  Three weeks later Bryan sent me a picture of the finished painting.  It was nothing short of astonishing:

Click to enlarge

At first I thought Bryan had made a mistake, and accidentally sent back the picture that I had sent to him, but no – what you see above is a photo-realistic painting of an impossible bottle.  Well, you need patience and skill to make an impossible bottle, but this is in another league!

The only downside?  The original costs £1000.  I can only hope that when I’ve saved enough, it’s still for sale!

A few months ago I revealed that the glass bottles I use to make my impossible bottles had been discontinued.  Well, after more than two months of frantic searching, sleepless nights and toil, I am pleased to present to you the new impossible bottle design.

So it’s out with the old:

…and in with the new:

(Click to enlarge images)

The new bottle is square rather than round, which I think gives it a little more depth and character.  However, the internal dimensions are smaller, and the neck is a lot narrower – two factors which crank up the difficulty!

Thank you for your patience whilst the website has been out of action, and sincere apologies to anybody who wanted to purchase an impossible bottle over the Christmas period.

Now I’m off to write out 100 times “I must always buy my bottles in bulk”.

One of my fondest childhood memories is watching the Paul Daniels Magic Show in the mid 90′s.  Love him or loathe him, Paul inspired a whole generation, and for me his TV shows were the catalyst for my own interest in magic.

Recently I contacted Paul, and he was kind enough to sign a deck of cards for me to bottle, so here it is – the Paul Daniels Impossible Bottle!

Click to enlarge

It now takes pride of place on my mantelpiece at home, as a reminder of those good old days when there were proper magic shows on TV!  Thanks Paul!

As you know, I make my impossible bottles using normal, off-the-shelf glass bottles.  As it happens, the particular brand of bottles that I use contain baby drinks, and I buy them from the local supermarket.  My two young children drink the juice, I use the bottles, everyone’s a winner.

However…the bottles have completely disappeared from every store I’ve visited, and I have a horrible suspicion they’re being discontinued.  My existing stock is running low, so until I can source a replacement I’m afraid things are on hold.

Sorry for any disappointment – all being well it will be business-as-usual again very soon.

I was proud to have my bottles feature in this months Magicseen Magazine.  Deputy editor Graham Hey was blown away, commenting:

“We are talking about putting a WHOLE deck of cards inside a real bottle!  You know, like those ships you see inside a bottle at the seaside, but done with real class.”